Darren Schroeder
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Darren Phillip Schroeder (born on August 27, 1967 in Christchurch, New Zealand) is a Small Press editor, critic, stand up comedian, and comics creator.[1] He is best known for founding the Register of New Zealand Comics, editing the Small press section of the Comics Bulletin website and as long-standing editor of the Funtime Comics anthology Funtime Comics Presents. He also creates his own popular semi-autobiographical mini comic Mopy
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Darren Schroeder is a pakeha male from Christchurch, New Zealand who has recently moved to Devon, England.[2] He learnt to read through exposure to Donald Duck comics, and later on the work of Keith Giffen on Justice League International inspired him to return to his comic reading habit.[3]
His interest turned to locally produced comics, and even though they were done on a small scale he thought they were just as good, if not better, than most of the imported stuff he encountered.
[edit] Editorship at Funtime Comics
He became involved in the New Zealand comic collective Funtime Comics at its inception in 1991, but did not take up editorship of the Funtime Comics Presents anthology until 1993 with the publication of Issue #5.[4] He was known for a very inclusive editorial policy, "Everyone's got a story to tell, and everyone can draw comics."[5] His long-standing editorship finished with his move to England in February 2007, and Issue #22 is due to be published under a new editor in mid 2007.
[edit] Small Press Reviewing
Darren Schroeder took up editorship of the Small Press section of the international Comics Bulletin website when the site launched in 2000. He is also a critic/writer for the international publications Comic Edge, Comic Quarterly, and various websites such as Comics Australia (the former seminal site for Australian comics ).[6]
[edit] His own Comic Mopy
Comics reviewer Tim Bollinger wrote that Darren's mini-comic, Mopy: "...veers wildly from heartfelt autobiographical narratives to bad throwaway puns, with naïve, scratchy but immediate drawings that shout sincerity into the gaping abyss of popular cultural indifference". [7]
[edit] Acknowledgements
He was interviewed about his contribution to the New Zealand comics scene by Shirley Horrocks in her documentary The Comics Show.[8] He was also interviewed on New Zealand's National Radio. [9]
In 2006 the Kiwi Comics site (featuring the Register of New Zealand Comics) that Darren Schroeder created and maintains was acknowledged in two independent New Zealand comics awards.
- 2006 Gibson Award winner Favourite Web Related Material[10]
- 2006 Black River Digital Eric Award winner Best Comics Related Website[11]
He was also acknowledged by the tongue-in-cheek First Annual Funtime Comics Award 2002 as the joint winner of The Funtimes Extreme Award for best contribution to community singing. [12]
[edit] Other Activities
In addition to his comics interests, until recently Darren Schroeder was an active committee member of the Canterbury Film Society. His involvement in visual culture extends to television, and he also maintains a web site about New Zealand television history. [13]
[edit] Sources
[edit] References
- ^ Biography. Kiwi Comics. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
- ^ Moved to the UK. Daza Land. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
- ^ Developing the comic reading habit. Daza Land. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
- ^ Funtimes Comics Presents. Funtime Comics. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
- ^ Darren Schroeder interviewed on National Radio. National Radio. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
- ^ Contributions to Comics Australia. Daza Land. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
- ^ Review of Schroeder's semi-autobiographical comic Mopy. Pavement magazine, Winter 2005. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
- ^ Funtimes comics editor interviewed on The Comics Show. The Comics Show. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
- ^ Darren Schroeder interviewed on National Radio. National Radio. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
- ^ Comics.org.nz recognised by the 2006 Gibson Awards. Gibson Awards. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
- ^ Comics.org.nz recognised by the 2006 Eric Awards. Eric Awards. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
- ^ Darren Schroeder recognised in the First Annual Funtime Comics Awards. Funtime Awards. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
- ^ Darren Schroeder's Kiwi TV site. Kiwi TV. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
[edit] External links
- Darren Schroeder's Profile on the Register of New Zealand Comics
- The Small Press site that Darren edits
- The website of Funtime Comics that produces the anthology Funtime Comics Presents
- Home of Darren Schroeder's semi-autobiographical mini comic Mopy
- Darren Schroeder's ComicSpace
